The Conscience of MALIK Fraternity: MALIK Oshei Asim
MALIK Curriculum Vitae
MALIK Bio: Fraternity Name: Oshei Asim Translation: "Noble Defender" (named by James Case Jr.)
Pledged/Crossed: Spring 1989 Chapter: Genesis (C.W. Post) Line Name: "Men Striving for the Royal Throne" Line#: #2 Alias: "Ev", "Evy-Ev", "Best Damn Treasurer of the Frat. Period."
MALIK Career Highlights:
Starting with $500, ended up developing over $62,000 for the Fraternity.
3 years of expert bookkeeping to secure 501(c)10 status for the Fraternity (non-profit status).
Established IRA and Money Market Accounts.
Humble Beginnings I started my college career as an Economics Major with a Minor in Political Science. I was a commuter student holding down 2 jobs while attending college full time. Being 1 of 9 children, money was tight even with a scholarship. As a student, I would always attend the college parties with my neighborhood friends who were also attending the local colleges. Back in the late 80’s, a college party at any of the Long Island colleges would be just as good or better than going to a club. In my sophomore year, I joined two clubs to be more active on campus and to add to my resume. I joined the economics club and APO. I was already involved with community service through my church and town so that area was already covered. In my economics class for undeveloped countries I met Gerard M. Rodney who I would always see scribbling Malik Sigma Psi on the outside margins of his notes. At first I thought it might have been the name of his clique or nickname as I never saw those letters in that particular order before. So I asked him if he could tell me about it or was it a secret. After class we went to the Hillman Commons, where he began to tell me in detail about the organization and its philosophy and its differentiation from other fraternities. Man progressing to be King and the contributions of Africa. I left our meeting being very interested in an organization that I have never heard of before. At that time I was considering Alpha because they had many men in history and present day whom I respected and were accomplished. They caught my initial attention being the oldest of all of the Black Fraternities. More importantly, they were providing scholarships and doing a lot of community service in my area.
So I considered the Alpha’s until they were honest enough to tell me that I would have to take wood for which I replied in my native Jamaican tongue “I mon nah tek no wood fi nobody” I spent the next 2 weeks researching Malik Sigma Psi. I spoke with my boys from the neighborhood and when I told them that I was considering Malik Sigma Psi, they all said you should pledge Alpha as we never heard of Malik Sigma Psi... Who are they? What are they about? African what? Why 2 Greek letters? These were the same questions I asked myself and probably many of you reading this. I broke down the whole philosophy as it was told to me and they gave me their support although one of my friends said the Philosophy is cool and all that but I am not buying the 2 Greek Letter thing and If you’re going to pledge a fraternity at least pledge one which is known and recognized with a history of commitment to community service which you could include on your resume. When I told him the Alphas require you to take wood, he then said stick with the clubs and leave the fraternity stuff alone. As you can tell I like keeping a diverse group of friends in my group as it keeps me balanced.
Through the Fire I thought long about all good points that were being raised. My counterpoints were any contribution that I would make to Malik Sigma Psi would have an impact as the organization was young, growing and regional. The philosophy was great and different but not new to me. Man progressing to be King I identified with although I didn’t consider myself a King but always strived to be the best that I could possibly be, never hid behind an excuse when I fell short and always tried to learn from life’s challenges. Therefore I was a MALIK before I pledged Malik Sigma Psi. I did not have to change to be MALIK as I would if I went the Alpha route. To me Malik Sigma Psi meant self-determination so I told Gerard that I wanted to pledge and he told me what I needed to do. I gave my verbal commitment that I would pledge that semester. Tragically, three weeks later my house burned down to the ground though luckily my family was able to get out in time. My mother and siblings were split-up amongst several extended family members’ homes, as our home had to be rebuilt. I however, was now homeless. Yet I continued to pledge.
Brothers on campus asked why did I want to continue with the process knowing my situation. I said I made a commitment and I was raised to honor my commitments. The fact that I would be in school anyway also weighed in on my decision to continue my decision to pledge. I took most of my personal savings and got a dorm room on campus. I lived with exchange students from Greece so as you can imagine my pledging Malik Sigma Psi made for regular conversations before and after the pledge process. However, during the pledge process I was on silent probation as very little communication was allowed so I had to keep my opinions/facts to myself. This helped me to continue to develop as a person by exercising tolerance.
Malik Sigma Psi As An UndergraduateWhen I crossed I received a T-shirt, a sweatshirt and a painter’s cap, which I wore proudly on my campus and in my neighborhood, as that was all I had. Although I was grateful to have these items in actuality it was iron-on patches that wore off after too many washes. To add insult to injury brothers had to travel all the way to New Jersey to purchase these items. I began to envision us doing much better with professionally screened T-shirts, lapel pins cuff links etc. like a real professional recognized organization. After I crossed I spent a lot of time at NY Tech, where Tariq took me to the campus Macintosh computer room, where they had the state of the art Macintosh computers and peripherals. He introduced me to the staff as if I were a student there so I was able to come and go with no trouble from administration. The computers were perfect for graphic work so I could learn how to design flyers and T-shirts.
I took some of Tariq’s designs and some of my own and submitted them to my cousin who was working in a T-shirt store part-time. He charged the regular price for the screens and a slightly reduced rate per T-shirt as I could not buy in volume. He had to work on them after hours as concession that was allowed by his boss in hopes that he would be able to receive real business from our organization. I prepared a very rough licensing agreement between him and myself. I worked all summer so that Items would be readily available for the fall semester. When the fall semester started I had screened bicycle caps, T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweat suits and schoolbags, which I sold at cost. My Post brothers bought everything right away and a few brothers from other chapters began to do the same. Some brothers thought that I was making a profit and wanted a discount. When I said No and that I was already operating at a loss they got angry as $10 dollars for a screened T-Shirt was too much money. They felt and said "who else would buy a Malik Sigma Psi T-shirt other than the members of the organization. It was not like I could sell a Malik Sigma Psi T-shirt to an Alpha".
The straw that broke the camel’s back was when we made the first road trip to Norfolk University in Virginia in the early 90's. We rented 2 vans through a hook-up we had at the time were leaving from Post's campus. I opened up my suite to brothers from other campus as many of my suite mates had gone home form the weekend. I offered them refreshments as any good host would. Not only did they devour my groceries but they also stole my remaining inventory. After that I was done. No way was I going to make any more paraphernalia with my own money nor would I trust every brother just because they pledged. In the words of Chuck D from Welcome to the Terrordome “every brother ain’t a brother”. Needless to say that did not sour me to the organization. My personal goals as member were to graduate as a “MNL” and to hold chapter positions of APC, PC, Treasurer and President and to one day hold a position as a National Officer.
Malik Sigma Psi As An Alumnus/National OfficeMy dream for National Office began to take shape when Larry B. Martin asked me to join his team for the last 3 months of his administration. I said yes, I was honored being called and asked personally by a founder. I did not know how he got my name or how he heard of me but never the less I accepted the position. I had a list of ideas and recommendations but felt it would be fruitless to try and move forward with them as there were only 3 months remaining. The candidates running for the next administration (Atul, LQ, Hector and Ernest were running as a platform and they already had a candidate for Treasurer. I ran for the position anyway and stated my ideas, plans and where I wanted to see Malik Sigma Psi grow to. I lost by 5 votes to Hector Gonzalez from the Kha Kingdom (no relations to my line brother as appears that this is a popular name amongst the MALIK family). I congratulated him after the elections as well as the other candidates and offered my services. Two months went by and I saw Hector again at some so-called emergency meeting at Tuckahoe, NY where I offered my services again and gave him my contact information. I heard nothing else until four months later when Atul called me and asked me join his administration as the National Treasurer as Hector had some personal obligations/challenges that prohibited him from continuing in that capacity. I was so excited and eager to fill this position as there was so many things that I wanted to see done and questions that I sought answers for e.g. what happened to all the monies that were collected from pledge fees? Why has there been no real collection/enforcement of dues although it is noted in the constitution? Why is it that some chapters have had major parties/concerts yet the organization never had any money? Is there any truth to all the rumors about tax implications for nonpayment of taxes yet when you ask for details nothing but radio silence? I also remembered being an undergraduate and the other members of my chapter always having to come out of pocket for everything involving the organization and never getting reimbursed. Why? As you can see, I could not wait to get started. I was salivating, as there was so much to do.
The Work of A National TreasurerThe first thing I did with the assistance of LQ was to get to the bottom of the IRS issue and our liability. The two of us attacked this issue from the federal and State level, which we completed within the first month of me being part of the new administration. The next was to set-up a proper checking account/money market funds within our existing bank. I also wanted to provide details to brothers in a regular report down to the penny of what funds were collected and what the funds were being used for. I wanted to establish this before taking any monies to show that there was a plan in place. We wanted brothers to trust we were spending the funds responsibly and not recklessly as in the past and ironically, currently. My philosophy as the National Treasurer was if I would not spend my own money on it then I was not going to spend the organization’s money on it. I also wanted to set-up a petty cash account for chapters so that they did not have to spend their own money on legitimate fraternity business. If they did, they could rest assured that they would be reimbursed if they provided actual receipt just like a business. I also implemented a reimbursement policy for the National Officers Atul and LQ but it became a little inefficient to obtain receipts and cut checks. As we met regularly once a month there was a wait time of at least a month before being reimbursement so I applied for an American Express card in the name of the Fraternity to build credit for the organization and again provide exposure to our organization as I wanted to see MALIK at the next level. I had these two brothers sign a contract that stated any purchases beyond fraternal business they would be personally accountable responsible for. Atul and LQ agreed with no hesitation and I had 2 cards issued in their names. I was content with using excel spreadsheets and a ledger book for my financial reporting but with the recommendation of Council of Elder Michael Williams who suggested that we use QuickBooks for proper record keeping and auditing purposes. So we purchased the software for the fraternity and the rest is history. See accomplishments of the Sheffey Administration. In addition to being on the board of Council of Elders Michael also served as our in house auditor making sure we were not taking trips to the Cayman Islands for offshore accounts or reckless spending. The success of our accomplishments was based on the fact that we all wanted to see the organization better than what it was. We set our egos to the side, played our positions and kept it moving. I never tried to be Supreme Pledge Captain or President and they never tried to be Treasurer. We conducted business to the best of our ability and it worked for the betterment of the organization. Don’t get me wrong, there were disagreements as I was new to the fold, Atul, LQ and Bryon already had a working relationship. However I was the wild-card, the new jack, which worked out because we kept each other in check. There were never talks of title, rank, education, status, individual achievements or who pledged whom. It was always how we can make the organization better no B.S., no excuses only how to make it better. We had families, school, careers and other obligations but every meeting, every conference call; every email was made to be productive. I was proud to work with these brothers with a strong sense of purpose and work ethic.
The Reflections of A National Treasurer Some brothers treat MALIK as a sidepiece always taking/pimping and never giving back. They give the organization 10% but want 100% in return. They say they love the fraternity but operate less than professional than they would in their jobs or anywhere else. Please see the following examples, which may or may not pertain to you…you decide. 1. For example if the Supreme Pledge Captain gives you a deadline of September 30 to get him all the pledge packages for potential initiates for your chapter. Why not give the initiates a deadline for them to get you their completed packages by September 20, which would give you 10 days to review the package for errors or missing information and enough time to resolve it and meet the Supreme’s. Wouldn’t you do that for your job? Or would you make up an excuse and ask for an extension with the risk of being fired. Isn’t there always a reason for a deadline? 2. If you were planning an event and the Treasurer said you have to fill out a requisition form so that he and anyone else that you were discussing the event could follow your train of thought for the planning of the event/fundraiser to ensure that you forecasted correctly and considered all possible outcomes with realistic expectations for a profit. Wouldn’t you do this for your job or your own business if you were making a proposal? And if legitimate questions were asked would you not provide an appropriate response rather than just being angry and acting as though it was a personal attack. Wouldn’t you do that at your respective jobs, applying for a grant or bank loan etc.? 3. If you were asked to attend the annual convention or a MALIK function wouldn’t you arrive at least 15 minutes early so you could at least lend a hand if needed, show unity or just to set a professional example. Wouldn’t you do that at your job if your Department were making a presentation to other Departments in your company or to potential clients? 4. What if you held a position of authority at your chapter and a member did something unbecoming of the organization? Wouldn’t you hold that individual accountable even if he were your buddy? Wouldn’t you do that if you were a Team Leader at your job as that would be a direct reflection of your leadership ability? If you answered yes to any of the questions above yet you do not give that same professionalism to the organization, then you are playing off the organization cheaply. For me there was never a difference, the same work ethic that I put in school, work and the development of my career is the same work ethic and professionalism that I brought to the organization. I am not perfect; not a historian; not a step master or an orator but I am a hard working professional with enough integrity for 10 men. When I was asked to be the National Treasurer, I looked at it as being an honor cause when people trust you with their money that in itself is a major statement. I never wanted to betray that trust by spending it foolishly particularly since we had no money to begin with. Atul, LQ and Bryon are my boys yet if they could not provide me with receipts they were blasted, if they did not pay their dues they was blasted and the funny thing is they never took it personally as it was all business.
"Pay Your Dues" PhilosophyAs the Treasurer, I saw everything from brothers bragging about buying $100 sneakers, spending $200 at a club on drinks, buying $1,000 car stereos, etc. but when it came time to pay dues they wanted a payment plan because $100 dues was so much money to pay to their beloved organization meanwhile other groups, professional clubs and fraternities were charging much more for their annual dues. When I would ask brothers about their dues situation they would say that had a great idea for a fundraiser. My response would always be: just pay your dues. Planning a fundraiser is good but there will always be cost associated with a fundraiser and profits are not always guaranteed, there is no cost associated with your dues as its 100% revenue and now tax deductible as opposed to moneys earned at a party, where you have to pay for advertisement, entertainment etc. and what’s left over is your net revenue. Not to mention we are a “not-for profit organization”, which limits the type of fundraisers we able to do.
So when the same brothers say they love the organization and want to see it grow my response is “Pay your Dues” and stop pimping your fraternity. Some brothers wanted to be compensated for their years of service to the fraternity. My response “Pay your Dues” I agree there are brothers many before me that gave endlessly and tirelessly with no recognition particularly the founders but that is the MALIK charge, that is what we signed up for. No one expected to get compensated for work that had to be done. So with that being said, my response to the members was ‘Pay your Dues, with the exception of the founders. In fact, during the second year of the Sheffey Administration, as our finances began to grow we offered the founders an honorarium which excluded them from paying dues. That was our tribute to them.
Closing Words I was taught that the House of MALIK is to be built with sweat equity of its members because if you are waiting for someone else to build it you will be waiting a long time. Needless to say I was one of the most unpopular National Officers of which I did not care. I did not take the job to be popular but to provide results and with the cooperation of the National Officers and the active membership this was done. I wanted to leave the position of Treasurer with members believing that they could trust the National Office with their hard earned money to be used for non-member Scholarships, health awareness programs, economic empowerment and many other community service events, which is one of the reasons I joined. I always felt the philosophy of the organization was too big to be contained solely on a college campus. My relationship of brotherhood with Atul, LQ, Bryon and during his administration Mario, grew because of our commitment of wanting to see MALIK grow and go beyond the college campus and deep into the trenches of our communities. I am proud to have worked alongside such professionals that gave nothing less than 100%, no excuses were accepted or tolerated just results and as anyone reading the accomplishments of the Sheffey Administration would objectively agree that this was done.
MALIK Oshei Asim
MALIK Curriculum Vitae
MALIK Bio:
Fraternity Name: Oshei Asim
Translation: "Noble Defender"
(named by James Case Jr.)
Pledged/Crossed: Spring 1989
Chapter: Genesis (C.W. Post)
Line Name: "Men Striving for the Royal Throne"
Line#: #2
Alias: "Ev", "Evy-Ev", "Best Damn Treasurer of the Frat. Period."
MALIK Career Highlights:
Humble Beginnings
I started my college career as an Economics Major with a Minor in Political Science. I was a commuter student holding down 2 jobs while attending college full time. Being 1 of 9 children, money was tight even with a scholarship. As a student, I would always attend the college parties with my neighborhood friends who were also attending the local colleges. Back in the late 80’s, a college party at any of the Long Island colleges would be just as good or better than going to a club. In my sophomore year, I joined two clubs to be more active on campus and to add to my resume. I joined the economics club and APO. I was already involved with community service through my church and town so that area was already covered.
In my economics class for undeveloped countries I met Gerard M. Rodney who I would always see scribbling Malik Sigma Psi on the outside margins of his notes. At first I thought it might have been the name of his clique or nickname as I never saw those letters in that particular order before. So I asked him if he could tell me about it or was it a secret. After class we went to the Hillman Commons, where he began to tell me in detail about the organization and its philosophy and its differentiation from other fraternities. Man progressing to be King and the contributions of Africa. I left our meeting being very interested in an organization that I have never heard of before. At that time I was considering Alpha because they had many men in history and present day whom I respected and were accomplished. They caught my initial attention being the oldest of all of the Black Fraternities. More importantly, they were providing scholarships and doing a lot of community service in my area.
So I considered the Alpha’s until they were honest enough to tell me that I would have to take wood for which I replied in my native Jamaican tongue “I mon nah tek no wood fi nobody” I spent the next 2 weeks researching Malik Sigma Psi. I spoke with my boys from the neighborhood and when I told them that I was considering Malik Sigma Psi, they all said you should pledge Alpha as we never heard of Malik Sigma Psi... Who are they? What are they about? African what? Why 2 Greek letters? These were the same questions I asked myself and probably many of you reading this. I broke down the whole philosophy as it was told to me and they gave me their support although one of my friends said the Philosophy is cool and all that but I am not buying the 2 Greek Letter thing and If you’re going to pledge a fraternity at least pledge one which is known and recognized with a history of commitment to community service which you could include on your resume. When I told him the Alphas require you to take wood, he then said stick with the clubs and leave the fraternity stuff alone. As you can tell I like keeping a diverse group of friends in my group as it keeps me balanced.
Through the Fire
I thought long about all good points that were being raised. My counterpoints were any contribution that I would make to Malik Sigma Psi would have an impact as the organization was young, growing and regional. The philosophy was great and different but not new to me. Man progressing to be King I identified with although I didn’t consider myself a King but always strived to be the best that I could possibly be, never hid behind an excuse when I fell short and always tried to learn from life’s challenges. Therefore I was a MALIK before I pledged Malik Sigma Psi. I did not have to change to be MALIK as I would if I went the Alpha route. To me Malik Sigma Psi meant self-determination so I told Gerard that I wanted to pledge and he told me what I needed to do. I gave my verbal commitment that I would pledge that semester. Tragically, three weeks later my house burned down to the ground though luckily my family was able to get out in time. My mother and siblings were split-up amongst several extended family members’ homes, as our home had to be rebuilt. I however, was now homeless. Yet I continued to pledge.
Brothers on campus asked why did I want to continue with the process knowing my situation. I said I made a commitment and I was raised to honor my commitments. The fact that I would be in school anyway also weighed in on my decision to continue my decision to pledge. I took most of my personal savings and got a dorm room on campus. I lived with exchange students from Greece so as you can imagine my pledging Malik Sigma Psi made for regular conversations before and after the pledge process. However, during the pledge process I was on silent probation as very little communication was allowed so I had to keep my opinions/facts to myself. This helped me to continue to develop as a person by exercising tolerance.
Malik Sigma Psi As An UndergraduateWhen I crossed I received a T-shirt, a sweatshirt and a painter’s cap, which I wore proudly on my campus and in my neighborhood, as that was all I had. Although I was grateful to have these items in actuality it was iron-on patches that wore off after too many washes. To add insult to injury brothers had to travel all the way to New Jersey to purchase these items. I began to envision us doing much better with professionally screened T-shirts, lapel pins cuff links etc. like a real professional recognized organization. After I crossed I spent a lot of time at NY Tech, where Tariq took me to the campus Macintosh computer room, where they had the state of the art Macintosh computers and peripherals. He introduced me to the staff as if I were a student there so I was able to come and go with no trouble from administration. The computers were perfect for graphic work so I could learn how to design flyers and T-shirts.
I took some of Tariq’s designs and some of my own and submitted them to my cousin who was working in a T-shirt store part-time. He charged the regular price for the screens and a slightly reduced rate per T-shirt as I could not buy in volume. He had to work on them after hours as concession that was allowed by his boss in hopes that he would be able to receive real business from our organization. I prepared a very rough licensing agreement between him and myself. I worked all summer so that Items would be readily available for the fall semester. When the fall semester started I had screened bicycle caps, T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweat suits and schoolbags, which I sold at cost. My Post brothers bought everything right away and a few brothers from other chapters began to do the same. Some brothers thought that I was making a profit and wanted a discount. When I said No and that I was already operating at a loss they got angry as $10 dollars for a screened T-Shirt was too much money. They felt and said "who else would buy a Malik Sigma Psi T-shirt other than the members of the organization. It was not like I could sell a Malik Sigma Psi T-shirt to an Alpha".
The straw that broke the camel’s back was when we made the first road trip to Norfolk University in Virginia in the early 90's. We rented 2 vans through a hook-up we had at the time were leaving from Post's campus. I opened up my suite to brothers from other campus as many of my suite mates had gone home form the weekend. I offered them refreshments as any good host would. Not only did they devour my groceries but they also stole my remaining inventory. After that I was done. No way was I going to make any more paraphernalia with my own money nor would I trust every brother just because they pledged. In the words of Chuck D from Welcome to the Terrordome “every brother ain’t a brother”. Needless to say that did not sour me to the organization. My personal goals as member were to graduate as a “MNL” and to hold chapter positions of APC, PC, Treasurer and President and to one day hold a position as a National Officer.
Malik Sigma Psi As An Alumnus/National OfficeMy dream for National Office began to take shape when Larry B. Martin asked me to join his team for the last 3 months of his administration. I said yes, I was honored being called and asked personally by a founder. I did not know how he got my name or how he heard of me but never the less I accepted the position. I had a list of ideas and recommendations but felt it would be fruitless to try and move forward with them as there were only 3 months remaining. The candidates running for the next administration (Atul, LQ, Hector and Ernest were running as a platform and they already had a candidate for Treasurer. I ran for the position anyway and stated my ideas, plans and where I wanted to see Malik Sigma Psi grow to. I lost by 5 votes to Hector Gonzalez from the Kha Kingdom (no relations to my line brother as appears that this is a popular name amongst the MALIK family). I congratulated him after the elections as well as the other candidates and offered my services. Two months went by and I saw Hector again at some so-called emergency meeting at Tuckahoe, NY where I offered my services again and gave him my contact information.
I heard nothing else until four months later when Atul called me and asked me join his administration as the National Treasurer as Hector had some personal obligations/challenges that prohibited him from continuing in that capacity. I was so excited and eager to fill this position as there was so many things that I wanted to see done and questions that I sought answers for e.g. what happened to all the monies that were collected from pledge fees? Why has there been no real collection/enforcement of dues although it is noted in the constitution? Why is it that some chapters have had major parties/concerts yet the organization never had any money? Is there any truth to all the rumors about tax implications for nonpayment of taxes yet when you ask for details nothing but radio silence? I also remembered being an undergraduate and the other members of my chapter always having to come out of pocket for everything involving the organization and never getting reimbursed. Why?
As you can see, I could not wait to get started. I was salivating, as there was so much to do.
The Work of A National TreasurerThe first thing I did with the assistance of LQ was to get to the bottom of the IRS issue and our liability. The two of us attacked this issue from the federal and State level, which we completed within the first month of me being part of the new administration. The next was to set-up a proper checking account/money market funds within our existing bank. I also wanted to provide details to brothers in a regular report down to the penny of what funds were collected and what the funds were being used for. I wanted to establish this before taking any monies to show that there was a plan in place. We wanted brothers to trust we were spending the funds responsibly and not recklessly as in the past and ironically, currently.
My philosophy as the National Treasurer was if I would not spend my own money on it then I was not going to spend the organization’s money on it. I also wanted to set-up a petty cash account for chapters so that they did not have to spend their own money on legitimate fraternity business. If they did, they could rest assured that they would be reimbursed if they provided actual receipt just like a business. I also implemented a reimbursement policy for the National Officers Atul and LQ but it became a little inefficient to obtain receipts and cut checks. As we met regularly once a month there was a wait time of at least a month before being reimbursement so I applied for an American Express card in the name of the Fraternity to build credit for the organization and again provide exposure to our organization as I wanted to see MALIK at the next level. I had these two brothers sign a contract that stated any purchases beyond fraternal business they would be personally accountable responsible for. Atul and LQ agreed with no hesitation and I had 2 cards issued in their names.
I was content with using excel spreadsheets and a ledger book for my financial reporting but with the recommendation of Council of Elder Michael Williams who suggested that we use QuickBooks for proper record keeping and auditing purposes. So we purchased the software for the fraternity and the rest is history. See accomplishments of the Sheffey Administration. In addition to being on the board of Council of Elders Michael also served as our in house auditor making sure we were not taking trips to the Cayman Islands for offshore accounts or reckless spending.
The success of our accomplishments was based on the fact that we all wanted to see the organization better than what it was. We set our egos to the side, played our positions and kept it moving. I never tried to be Supreme Pledge Captain or President and they never tried to be Treasurer. We conducted business to the best of our ability and it worked for the betterment of the organization. Don’t get me wrong, there were disagreements as I was new to the fold, Atul, LQ and Bryon already had a working relationship. However I was the wild-card, the new jack, which worked out because we kept each other in check. There were never talks of title, rank, education, status, individual achievements or who pledged whom. It was always how we can make the organization better no B.S., no excuses only how to make it better. We had families, school, careers and other obligations but every meeting, every conference call; every email was made to be productive. I was proud to work with these brothers with a strong sense of purpose and work ethic.
The Reflections of A National Treasurer
Some brothers treat MALIK as a sidepiece always taking/pimping and never giving back. They give the organization 10% but want 100% in return. They say they love the fraternity but operate less than professional than they would in their jobs or anywhere else. Please see the following examples, which may or may not pertain to you…you decide.
1. For example if the Supreme Pledge Captain gives you a deadline of September 30 to get him all the pledge packages for potential initiates for your chapter. Why not give the initiates a deadline for them to get you their completed packages by September 20, which would give you 10 days to review the package for errors or missing information and enough time to resolve it and meet the Supreme’s. Wouldn’t you do that for your job? Or would you make up an excuse and ask for an extension with the risk of being fired. Isn’t there always a reason for a deadline?
2. If you were planning an event and the Treasurer said you have to fill out a requisition form so that he and anyone else that you were discussing the event could follow your train of thought for the planning of the event/fundraiser to ensure that you forecasted correctly and considered all possible outcomes with realistic expectations for a profit. Wouldn’t you do this for your job or your own business if you were making a proposal? And if legitimate questions were asked would you not provide an appropriate response rather than just being angry and acting as though it was a personal attack. Wouldn’t you do that at your respective jobs, applying for a grant or bank loan etc.?
3. If you were asked to attend the annual convention or a MALIK function wouldn’t you arrive at least 15 minutes early so you could at least lend a hand if needed, show unity or just to set a professional example. Wouldn’t you do that at your job if your Department were making a presentation to other Departments in your company or to potential clients?
4. What if you held a position of authority at your chapter and a member did something unbecoming of the organization? Wouldn’t you hold that individual accountable even if he were your buddy? Wouldn’t you do that if you were a Team Leader at your job as that would be a direct reflection of your leadership ability?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above yet you do not give that same professionalism to the organization, then you are playing off the organization cheaply.
For me there was never a difference, the same work ethic that I put in school, work and the development of my career is the same work ethic and professionalism that I brought to the organization. I am not perfect; not a historian; not a step master or an orator but I am a hard working professional with enough integrity for 10 men. When I was asked to be the National Treasurer, I looked at it as being an honor cause when people trust you with their money that in itself is a major statement. I never wanted to betray that trust by spending it foolishly particularly since we had no money to begin with. Atul, LQ and Bryon are my boys yet if they could not provide me with receipts they were blasted, if they did not pay their dues they was blasted and the funny thing is they never took it personally as it was all business.
"Pay Your Dues" PhilosophyAs the Treasurer, I saw everything from brothers bragging about buying $100 sneakers, spending $200 at a club on drinks, buying $1,000 car stereos, etc. but when it came time to pay dues they wanted a payment plan because $100 dues was so much money to pay to their beloved organization meanwhile other groups, professional clubs and fraternities were charging much more for their annual dues. When I would ask brothers about their dues situation they would say that had a great idea for a fundraiser. My response would always be: just pay your dues. Planning a fundraiser is good but there will always be cost associated with a fundraiser and profits are not always guaranteed, there is no cost associated with your dues as its 100% revenue and now tax deductible as opposed to moneys earned at a party, where you have to pay for advertisement, entertainment etc. and what’s left over is your net revenue. Not to mention we are a “not-for profit organization”, which limits the type of fundraisers we able to do.
So when the same brothers say they love the organization and want to see it grow my response is “Pay your Dues” and stop pimping your fraternity. Some brothers wanted to be compensated for their years of service to the fraternity. My response “Pay your Dues” I agree there are brothers many before me that gave endlessly and tirelessly with no recognition particularly the founders but that is the MALIK charge, that is what we signed up for. No one expected to get compensated for work that had to be done. So with that being said, my response to the members was ‘Pay your Dues, with the exception of the founders. In fact, during the second year of the Sheffey Administration, as our finances began to grow we offered the founders an honorarium which excluded them from paying dues. That was our tribute to them.
Closing Words
I was taught that the House of MALIK is to be built with sweat equity of its members because if you are waiting for someone else to build it you will be waiting a long time. Needless to say I was one of the most unpopular National Officers of which I did not care. I did not take the job to be popular but to provide results and with the cooperation of the National Officers and the active membership this was done. I wanted to leave the position of Treasurer with members believing that they could trust the National Office with their hard earned money to be used for non-member Scholarships, health awareness programs, economic empowerment and many other community service events, which is one of the reasons I joined. I always felt the philosophy of the organization was too big to be contained solely on a college campus. My relationship of brotherhood with Atul, LQ, Bryon and during his administration Mario, grew because of our commitment of wanting to see MALIK grow and go beyond the college campus and deep into the trenches of our communities. I am proud to have worked alongside such professionals that gave nothing less than 100%, no excuses were accepted or tolerated just results and as anyone reading the accomplishments of the Sheffey Administration would objectively agree that this was done.